“...That child. How much is she?”
After studying Medina for a moment, Watson answered politely.
“That child belongs to Class 1. She isn't one of the children for sale.”
The sharp look in her eyes clearly warned him not to even think about it.
The difference in how she treated Class 1 and Class 3 was so blatant that Baron Phillips let out a dry laugh.
“What if I were to adopt her through the proper procedures?”
“I'm sorry, Baron, but you do not meet the qualifications for adoption.”
“......”
The words were respectful, yet openly dismissive.
The baron's expression darkened, but Watson didn't back down.
The children of Classes 1 and 2 had to be placed only with carefully selected, high-quality adoptive families.
That was Watson's pride.
And it was also necessary for maintaining Sunflower Orphanage.
“My dear.”
As the standoff continued, Baroness Phillips tugged lightly at her husband's arm.
It was a signal not to cause a scene.
Frowning, Baron Phillips reluctantly looked away from Medina.
His gaze then shifted to the two boys standing beside her.
The moment he saw them, his eyebrows twitched.
“That black-haired boy... what is his name, by any chance?”
“......”
Watson remained silent, her guard fully raised.
“I'm not trying to adopt him. He simply looks familiar, as though I've seen him somewhere before.”
“I'm afraid I cannot tell you. That information is only shared with prospective adoptive parents.”
Even when the baron's face twisted with irritation, Watson's attitude remained firm.
He thinks he's seen Chester before?
When Chester first arrived at Sunflower Orphanage, he had lost every memory except his own name.
Because of that, even Watson knew nothing about his past.
Is this some kind of trick? Trying to lower the price?
She had seen plenty of people pull ridiculous schemes to haggle over children before.
She didn't think much of it.
Instead, she focused on getting the Phillips couple out as quickly as possible.
Eventually, Baron Phillips spoke through clenched teeth.
“...Very well. I'll come back another time.”
“Please do.”
Though that was what she said aloud, Watson had already made up her mind.
As of today, the Phillips couple would be banned from entering Sunflower Orphanage.
There was something deeply unsettling about the man's gaze.
And the way he had looked at Medina made her uneasy.
Once they had left the orphanage grounds, Baroness Phillips glanced up at her husband.
“Why are you so interested? That girl called Lopez is extremely high-grade as well.”
“Don't you see it? That little girl looks exactly like the daughter His Majesty has been searching for.”
Only then did realization dawn on the baroness.
“...Now that you mention it.”
Sunflower Orphanage was located in a remote area.
It was also a place that disliked outsiders, so rumors from the outside world rarely reached it.
But anyone living in the capital knew.
The current Emperor had a daughter born during his days as Crown Prince.
And he had spent years desperately searching for the child he had lost.
Perhaps because of that, he spared no expense supporting orphanages throughout the Empire.
Somewhere among them, his daughter might be waiting.
And if she truly was there, he wanted her to live comfortably until the day he found her.
“We could make a fortune from this.”
The Emperor had publicly announced an enormous reward for anyone who found his daughter.
There was no way Baron Phillips intended to share this information.
No.
He had to get to her first.
Of course, there was no guarantee that little girl was actually the Emperor's daughter.
But if she wasn't...
He could simply sell her for a hefty price.
That girl was every bit as valuable as Lopez.
Perhaps even more valuable.
And if she really is the Emperor's daughter...
The Emperor would owe me a tremendous favor.
Dreaming of climbing even higher in society, Baron Phillips curled his lips into a greedy smile.
“But the director won't hand her over.”
“Then we'll take her secretly.”
Greed flickered within his eyes.
Kidnapping a child would be easy.
“Then why did you ask about that black-haired boy?”
“Didn't you notice the resemblance?”
“To whom?”
“The Duke of Ortega.”
The baroness's eyes widened.
Now that she thought about it, the resemblance was undeniable.
The boy looked exactly like the Duke of Ortega in his youth.
“But they said the duke's son disappeared!”
“Most likely one of the duchess's schemes. But if that boy truly is Chester Ortega...”
The baron's smile grew darker.
“The duchess's face would be quite a sight to see.”
“What are you planning to do?”
“I'll investigate how he ended up here. And if it's true...”
He chuckled.
“I'll sell the information.”
As Baron Phillips stared back at Sunflower Orphanage, he looked as though he were gazing upon a vault overflowing with treasure.
His greed was impossible to hide.
Klein and Chester came looking for me.
Without Medina, no less.
That was unusual.
The two boys strode straight toward me with intimidating expressions and immediately demanded,
“Hey, are you getting adopted?”
“Are you really leaving?”
At once, Arden quietly grabbed the sleeve of my uniform from behind.
Ever since the night I had returned to the dormitory, he had practically glued himself to my side.
He seemed worried I might escape alone.
Bill would have followed me around noisily.
Arden, on the other hand, simply stayed close in silence.
When Klein and Chester shot displeased looks at him, I quickly shook my head.
“I'm not leaving.”
“Then why are there rumors saying you are?”
“Because they're just rumors.”
The two of them still looked troubled.
I gave them a polite smile.
“If you've confirmed it now, could you please go back to your classroom?”
Klein immediately shouted in protest.
“What the heck?! Are you separating Class 1 and Class 3 now?”
That's not me doing the separating.
And more importantly, that wasn't the issue.
“It's class time.”
Didn't they see the Grim Reaper standing behind them?
“Kl-e-in! Chester!”
Carrington's furious voice rang out.
Both boys visibly flinched.
“You come during break time!”
In other words:
Attend your classes during class hours.
I waved them away.
As Carrington dragged them off by their ears, tears began gathering in the corners of their eyes.
“Teacher, please be gentler. They're hurting...”
At my request, Carrington's face instantly turned cold.
“Lopez, children do not question a teacher's methods.”
Klein and Chester looked back at me with complicated expressions as they were dragged away.
That evening—
Click.
The moment Watson left the director's office and disappeared down the corridor, I slipped out from my hiding place.
The arrival of Baron and Baroness Phillips meant those people would be coming soon as well.
And if I wanted to properly prepare for that, I needed to make my own preparations first.
Standing before the office door, I crouched down and felt around the floor.
In Desert of Graduation, the spare key was hidden somewhere around here...
Found it.
Lifting a particularly loose floor tile, I uncovered a hidden key.
The emergency key to the director's office.
After making sure nobody was nearby, I unlocked the heavily secured door and slipped inside.
The ledger. I need to find the ledger.
To fund my return to my original world, I had decided to use the money Watson had earned through illegal means.
I've roughly figured out the route. Now I just need money.
Ironically, in the original story, it was Megan who found the ledger.
Unable to tolerate Watson treating children like merchandise, Megan had taken action herself.
Since I'm already here, I might as well find it and hand it over to her.
She'd know how to use it better than I would.
The safe should be around here...
Following the memories of the original novel, I pressed firmly on a book titled Child Psychology.
A hidden mechanism clicked.
The bookshelf slid aside, revealing a safe.
I listened carefully for footsteps outside while entering the combination.
This was the code Megan had accidentally discovered in the original story.
0827.
The funny thing was that the password was simply Watson's birthday.
Apparently, she had been so confident nobody would ever find the safe that she hadn't bothered choosing anything more secure.
Beep.
Click.
The safe opened.
Inside were numerous expensive jewels.
I briefly inspected them before reaching for a thick ledger stored carefully at the very bottom.
Opening it, I found detailed records of everything.
The sources of the money.
The people involved in the corruption.
Every one of Watson's crimes.
Evidence of stolen government subsidies...
There's a lot more than I expected.
The fact that she had managed to avoid exposure all this time was honestly impressive.
With this, she'll never be allowed anywhere near children again.
I tucked away the ledger along with several jewels before closing the safe.
There's too much to carry all at once. I'll have to smuggle it out little by little whenever I get the chance.
With my objective complete, I began restoring everything to its original place.
Then—
“Tch. Didn't I tell you not to allow Baron Phillips and his wife back in?”
“They keep requesting visits despite being rejected several times.”
Watson's voice echoed loudly from the corridor.
“Then threaten to put them on the blacklist.”
Carrington and Watson were approaching.
And they were getting closer.
